Disney's Robin Hood: War
by Eamon Gallagher
Summary: A sequel to Robin Hood: Ireland Forever, Robin and Eamon's friendship is put to the test as their two countries go to war with each other
1. Chapter 1

Disney's Robin Hood: War

**Introduction**

**After the war with Cathal Brugha, Robin Hood, Maid Marian, Little John and Lady Cluck return to England. After a few months, King Richard steps down from the throne and appoints Robin and Marian as the new King and Queen of England. Robin's childhood friend, Eamon Kavanagh has followed a similar path. After the death of High King Brian Boru in a battle against the Vikings, his will is found. It states that since Boru had no heirs, he selected Eamon Kavanagh, "a man with only the best interests in his people," to be the new High King of Ireland. A few months pass and Robin and Eamon keep in touch with each other. However, when troops under an English banner assault the capital city of Dublin, their friendship is put to the test.**

**Chapter 1: Thirty Ships and Five Thousand Troops Gone**

It had been a little over four months since the end of the Battle of Dublin against Cathal Brugha and Robin Hood and his wife, Maid Marian, were living their lives as King and Queen of England. They were of course beloved among the people of England and even considered to be better than King Richard. Their only concern was for the welfare of the people. Robin and Marian had also received word that Robin's childhood friend from Ireland, Eamon Kavanagh, had followed the same path that they had. The High King of Ireland, Brian Boru was killed in a battle against the Vikings, and in his will, he appointed Eamon Kavanagh as the new High King of Ireland, stating that Eamon was a loyal Irishman whose only concern was for his people and his country. He certainly was that, as Ireland was blooming during the post-war period reconstruction. Some laws were made stricter while some laws were lifted all together. Taxes were lowered to a point that the people were comfortable with but didn't destroy the military or government. The same thing was happening in England and the friendship between Robin and Eamon helped to establish an alliance between England and Ireland. The English also profited from Ireland's existing alliances and vice versa. The threat of a Scottish invasion no longer loomed over England and Ireland didn't need to worry about the Welsh raiders. All three rulers enjoyed their time in power, though it was quite a change for all of them. Robin went from outlaw to king in very little time, so it was quite a drastic change of pace. Marian was born into the royal family, but was never in any real position of power. Eamon was a king for a while, but only ruled one region of Ireland and now he ruled _all_ of Ireland. Thankfully, the current time of peace was a good starting pace.

Morning dawned in Nottingham, England and Robin awoke to see his wife sleeping peacefully beside him. He bent down and kissed her cheek, causing her to awaken.

"Morning, Robin." she said as she woke up.

"Good morning, darling." Robin replied as he kissed her.

The two lay in bed for a couple of hours as the sun rose, just talking and enjoying each other's company. Though they had a lot on their hands with running the country, they still made sure that they had time for each other and were still as much in love with each other as they were when they first fell for each other. Even Friar Tuck said that they were the happiest couple he had ever seen.

Soon they decided to get up and get ready for the day. As they headed toward the dining hall for their morning meal, the trade coordinator informed the two that they had a message from Eamon Kavanagh, requesting a temporary increase in the price of Irish exports in order to provide financial aid to farmers in the region of Ulster. A strange disease had swept through the crops, destroying most of them and without their crops they would be unable to support their families.

"Anything for an old friend." Robin replied. Marian smiled and kissed Robin's cheek.

"Very well, sire. I'll inform the merchants of this increase."

The rest of the day was relatively quiet. The peacetime in the British Isles left Robin and Marian with much time on their hands. The Skippy, Sis, Tagalong, and Toby were still very welcome in the castle, along with other commoners that Robin and Marian had befriended. Little John was named Captain of the Royal Guard and carried out his duties to the fullest extent, Lady Cluck, better known as Clucky, was still Marian's lady in waiting, despite Marian's protests. Marian had wanted Clucky to have a higher position but she refused and said that she would be much better off serving her new queen.

Robin and Eamon kept in touch with each other and not just for diplomatic purposes. They would communicate on friendly terms and would occasionally take some time to see each other in their home countries. Robin and Marian went back to Ireland for Eamon's coronation about two months earlier and Eamon decided to pay a friendly visit to Robin and Marian only days after the ceremony.

That evening, Robin was sitting out on the balcony, enjoying to cool evening air. He was soon joined by his wife and the two began talking.

"You know, Robin, I was a bit nervous about taking the position of Queen of England at first, but I'm glad that we're going through this together."

"I suppose that we won't have anything to worry about with the course this country is on. We have no enemies, no worries, and excellent allies. In fact I just received another letter from Eamon this afternoon. Apparently, he and the Scots just repelled a Viking attack in the Orkney Islands. No Celtic casualties."

"Really? I'm happy that the two of you are still friends. It's been so many years since you two first met and to see that you friendship is still this strong is very pleasing."

Robin smiled and kissed his wife. Everything was perfect in his world.

* * *

><p>In Ireland, Eamon Kavanagh was in his personal study in Dublin Castle. He had just returned from the Orkney Islands after fighting off a rather pathetic Viking invasion and was writing down the results in his personal journal. His life as the High King of Ireland was about the same pace as Robin and Marian's lives. There wasn't much turmoil in Ireland as when Cathal Brugha was leading his rebels. The only major problem was a shortage of crop production in Ulster which was easily dealt with. The people of Ireland, like the English, had no enemies in the British Isles any longer as Ireland's alliance with England eliminated the threat of the Welsh raiders. Eamon was also enjoying a bit of his love life. He had recently reunited with his own childhood friend, a young woman by the name of Ellen McCarthy. She was a young vixen, the same age as Eamon and the two had first met in the town of Tuam in County Galway and, like Robin and Marian, started out as friends but over time, Eamon began to develop romantic feelings for the young vixen. At the age of seventeen, she left for Cork, the capital city of Munster and Eamon didn't see her for years.<p>

Ellen heard once again heard Eamon's name when news reached them of Cathal Brugha's rebellion and that Eamon was leading the Irish forces. During the war, she prayed for him, prayed that she might be able to see him again. Her prayer was answered two months after the end of the war. She managed to convince her father to go to Dublin to witness Eamon's coronation as High King of Ireland. After the ceremony, there was a celebration in Dublin Castle. There, they finally reunited. Eamon was thrilled to see her face again and was absolutely astounded by how beautiful she had become. That night, the two shared several dances together, happy to just be together again.

That night, Eamon told her about how he felt about her. He told her that since they were teenagers, he had loved her. That was also the night that he proposed to her. Although it had been so long, Ellen joyfully accepted his proposal.

As Eamon was in his study, Ellen came in and asked what he was doing.

"Oh, nothin'. Just documentin' the results of the Battle of the Orkneys."

Ellen looked at the results and read that the Irish and Scots only lost four men total and that the Norse had lost over 500.

"Wow. That must have been an easy assignment." Ellen joked

"Aye, it was. I sent word to me friend, Robin Hood, in England about the battle."

Ellen smiled as she sat down next to her fiancé. "It's good to know that you two are still friends. Even after so long, you two still maintain a strong bond."

Eamon smiled at his fiancé and place a kiss on her cheek. "It's good to know that our friendship can hold up this alliance."

As they were talking, a messenger entered the room. "Pardon me, my lord, but I have a message for you from King Robin Hood." the messenger said.

"Ah, excellent. I'll take it." The messenger handed Eamon the message and he read it. "Ah, perfect. Robin has accepted my request to increase the price of Irish exports. Thank you, sir. You're dismissed."

"Thank you, my lord."

"Well, I suppose that we can begin to provide assistance to the farmers of Ulster."

"It's nice to see that you care so much about the people, Eamon. I'm so glad you're our king." Ellen said with a smile.

"And I can't tell you how happy I am that you are to be my queen." Eamon replied as he kissed his bride-to-be.

A month passed and soon, Robin, Marian and Eamon met again, at Eamon's wedding. Robin smled proudly and Marian let tears of joy fall from her eyes as Eamon Kavanagh and Ellen McCarthy said their vows and the priest pronounced them husband and wife, king and queen. The reception was quite a magnificent celebration. The main hall of Dublin Castle was decorated beautifully, there was food music and dancing and almost half of Ireland was there. There were even a few emissaries from Scotland. Near the end of the celebration, Robin gave his blessing to the new couple and the blessings of every citizen of England and stated, "May our two countries share in the prosperity of this alliance forever." Unfortunately, his words were better said than done.

When Robin and Marian returned to Nottingham and were met by a distressed Little John.

"Rob, I swear it wasn't my fault! They just disappeared! I don't know what happened!" Little John said.

"What is it, Johnny? What happened?" Robin replied.

"At least five thousand soldiers and over thirty ships are gone! No one knows where they went!"

"What! Are you sure of this?"

"Yeah, I'm being serious. All I know is that I didn't give them the 'OK' to go."

"Well then who did?"

"I dunno. But five thousand troops is a big army, Rob."

Robin was silent for a while as he tried to think about what someone would possibly want with five thousand soldiers. As far as he was concerned, there was no reason for anyone to start a rebellion.

"Well, Rob, the only reason I can think of for the disappearance of these troops is that someone obviously isn't in favor of our alliance with the Celts."

"If that's the case, I'd better inform Eamon about these insurgents." Robin said. As he walked away, Little John stopped him.

"There's one more thing, Robin. We're missing a few of our banners. My guess is that the troops took them. If they attack the Irish, they'll be marching under an English banner…and I'm guessing you know what that means."

Robin did know. If those troops were under an English banner that meant the England will have attack their ally, thus beginning a war with Ireland. Robin decided to warn Eamon anyway, as a way of explaining the attack.

A few weeks after the wedding, Eamon received the message from Robin. Ellen was in the room when Eamon was reading the letter.

"What's wrong, dear?"

"Apparently, Robin has a few empty spot in his military inventory. Thirty ships and five thousand troops have gone missing...and I think I just found them." Eamon said as he walked out to the balcony.

"What do you mean?" Ellen asked. Eamon pointed out to the plains of Meath at a huge army marching under an English banner. He then turned to his adjutant who was in the room. "Tell generals McCormack and Yeats to prepare their divisions for battle."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Friends Put to War/The Trenches**

A few days passed and Robin had not heard from Eamon for a while. The whole time, he couldn't help but feel that the worst had happened. He knew that Eamon was loyal to his country and, as clearly shown in the conflict against Cathal Brugha, would gladly die for his home and his people, and now that he was the High King of Ireland Robin knew that he would put his duties to his country first. The rest of the country had already heard of what had happened and feelings and ideas were split four ways. Many people knew that Robin did not send the troops and believed the Eamon Kavanagh would not retaliate, others knew the Robin didn't send the troops but believed that a war with the Irish was inevitable, some believed that Robin sent the troops to attempt to take over Ireland but believed that Eamon would be a loyal friend to England, and others believed that Robin tried to take over Ireland and that war was inevitable.

Maid Marian, Little John, Lady Cluck, and all the others that Robin had befriended tended to fall into the first or second group. They all knew that Robin had nothing to do with the English troops in Ireland, but how would Eamon Kavanagh react? They received their answer the next day.

Morning dawned in Nottingham and Marian awoke to see Robin fully dressed and standing out on the balcony. Marian looked at him in sadness and concern. His friendship with Eamon was in jeopardy and it wasn't any of their doings that threatened it. Marian walked up to Robin and hugged him from behind. Robin smiled at the embrace of his wife and spun around to return the embrace.

"I know your worried, Robin, but I'm sure everything will be fine." Marian said in a soft voice. Her voice flowed over Robin like a warm breeze, but he still felt uneasy.

"I don't know, dear. Eamon and I are indeed good friends, but…he will do anything if it is in the best interests of the welfare of Ireland." Robin replied. "I just don't know." Marian lifted his chin to look into his eyes and the two shared a passionate kiss. As their lips parted, one of the palace guards entered the room.

"Pardon me, your highness. High King Eamon Kavanagh of Ireland has arrived. He says that he must speak with you."

"Very well. Send him in."

The guard left and Robin's attention returned to his wife. "I'd like to speak to Eamon privately, darling." Marian nodded and went into the other room as the High King of Ireland entered. The look on his face wasn't of anger, but more of pain and sorrow. He looked at Robin before letting out a deep breath.

"Well, I'm sure you know about what's happened by now." Eamon said in a quiet voice.

"Yes, I know, but you must believe me. I didn't send those soldiers."

"I know. I need to ask you a few questions and I want honest answers. Were those troops part of the English regular army?"

Robin was silent for a while before answering, "Yes."

"Were those ships part of the English Navy?"

"…Yes."

"Were they being led by an English general?"

"…Well, we had three generals go missing with the troops. I…I suppose they were in Ireland."

Eamon let out another breath. "I wish I could avoid conflict, my friend, but in light of the attack, the people of Eire are screaming for war. From the information you've given me…I'm afraid that's enough for me to fulfill their demands."

"But, Eamon, I didn't send the soldiers!" robin pleaded.

"I know, but you have to face the facts! It doesn't matter _who_ sent the troops! Those men were in English uniforms fighting under an English general under an English banner! In short, England attacked Ireland!"

There was a long pause between the two before Eamon spoke up again. "You know that I hate to do this, but my country comes before anything now."

"I know." Robin replied. "Well, I suppose there's no way around this then."

"No. Well, I guess I'll start off this war by giving you fair warning. I'll strike first in retaliation. I don't want you to follow up in the footsteps of our unnamed perpetrator. I suggest you bolster your coastal defenses."

"Right. I hope that this war doesn't last too long."

"So do I. I'm sorry that this has to happen. Good luck."

"You too."

The two shook hands and Eamon departed for Ireland. Robin felt very uneasy, knowing that Eamon Kavanagh arrived his friend and left his enemy. Marian reentered the room and sat down next to her husband.

"What did Eamon say?" she asked.

"…England and Ireland are now at war."

Marian looked shocked to hear the result of the meeting. "But you didn't attack him!"

"But England did…It's complicated, Marian. I didn't want this to happen and neither did Eamon, but everyone in Ireland is crying out for war."

"So, you're saying that you're going to attack your friend?"

"No. he's going to attack first. I'll make sure that the coast is fortified."

"…Robin…just promise me something."

"Anything."

"Don't let this go on for too long."

Within a week, Irish forces assaulted the English coast. The first battle of the war was a relatively small battle, the invasion force being only about forty ships. The English were able to fend them off with few casualties on both sides. The fighting was very light for several weeks. The war dragged on for so long with such small battles that the people of both England and Ireland started calling it a Phony War, a term later used to describe the ceasefire between England and Germany in World War II. Tensions still grew between the English and Irish, however, as the people of both countries continued to press their leaders to take action. The Phony War lasted for half a year before England finally broke the tension and launched a full scale assault.

Robin was up late one night, the cries of the people for war ringing in his head. He knew that if he and Eamon kept trying to lose, the war would go on forever. He knew that he would have to risk their friendship in order to save the lives of his soldiers. He began working on a plan to severely cripple the Irish. Maid Marian awoke to see that Robin still hadn't come into their chamber. She went down to the war room where she saw the map on the wall, detailing a huge invasion of Ireland, with English forces landing near, Wexford, Dublin and Downpatrick, then pushing inland as far as Westmeath. If Eamon was unprepared, the plan just might work as Ireland would be taken.

"Robin, what are you doing?" Marian said in a quite concerned tone. "You're going to attack him? With so many soldiers? But I thought…you two were so close to ending everything."

"Marian, listen to me –"

"You two could have ended it. There hasn't been much fighting for so long. Now you choose to attack? Why?"

"Marian, even though the battles were small, people still died. I can't let them die for nothing. At least this plan may end the war once and for all…I know how you feel about this war, but I can't let those soldiers die in vain."

Marian was speechless at the fact that Robin knew that he was going to attack his friend and that he was going to attack him voluntarily.

"You can't do this, Robin. What about all those people? They all have families; mothers, fathers, wives. Some of them might have children."

"…I know. But it has to end now. If the war drags along like this, it will never end."

Marian could feel that Robin was changing. This internal conflict between keeping his friendship with Eamon Kavanagh and leading his country was tearing him apart.

A few nights later Eamon was up and wandering about Dublin Castle, his mind also focused on what the war would present next. He too was in the map room, trying to determine the best strategy of defense, should Robin Hood launch an invasion. As he was in the map room, his wife, Ellen, entered.

"Are you alright, Eamon?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm just looking over the coastal defenses."

Ellen came up to Eamon and embraced her husband as the two smiled at each other.

"Eamon, don't let this last too long. You two are obviously trying to avoid an all out war. Don't let it escalate above what it is now."

"Alright. I'll try not to let it get out of hand." Eamon replied. The two stared into each other's eyes, smiling for a few moments before Christ Church Cathedral's bells began to ring, followed by the bells of St. Patrick's Cathedral. Eamon ran to the balcony to see several hundred ships under English banners in Dublin Harbor. Suddenly, some of them began to fire deck mounted catapults and several of the buildings began to go up in flames as the burning rocks fell on them. It was then that several small landing craft began to make their way to the beaches. Eamon quickly called for all generals to prepare the troops for battle. The Dublin garrison quickly made their way to the beaches as the catapults continued to fire from the ships. Shot after shot fell on the city of Dublin and several troops were killed it some of the impacts. By the time the Irish made it to the beaches, the English had already landed a significant amount of troops. The Irish forces fought valiantly but were beginning to become overwhelmed by the vast amounts of English troops landing on the shores of Ireland. Soon, the Irish forces couldn't hold back to invaders any longer and Eamon ordered the city to be evacuated.

The troops continued to hold off the English for as long as possible as the citizens were evacuated out of the burning city. As the citizens were evacuating, the English broke through the Irish lines and began to swarm through the city. Many of the men took up gardening and farming tools to defend their families from the invaders. They succeeded but gave their own lives in the process.

Ellen led the survivors out to the plains of Meath and toward the city of Trim. As they made their way to the city, Ellen looked back to see Eamon riding up on his jet black horse. He dismounted and Ellen threw herself into his arms. As they separated, Eamon looked back at the burning city of Dublin, a look of sorrow on his face. Suddenly his expression turned to fury and Ellen heard him utter the words she thought she'd hear him say: "Damn that man! I'll have his head for this!"

* * *

><p>The fighting went on for weeks and within two months, the English had pushed as far inland as County Galway, much farther than Robin had planned. The Irish would soon have to surrender or lose the war and their country to England. Eamon was up late last night in a cold sweat, desperate for a victory against the English invaders. Ellen was especially concerned with what was happening. She knew that Robin and Eamon had been friends for nearly fifteen years and now she knew that Eamon wouldn't hesitate to cut Robin's head off should they ever meet on the battlefield. At this point, Ellen and Marian were the only ones in their right minds. The war had completely twisted the minds of their husbands to, what they feared to be, the point of no return. The war would only end when one side claimed victory over the other. Robin had made his opening moves, but now it was Eamon's turn.<p>

As Eamon was up in the war room of Galway Castle, his former home and current headquarters, he saw one of his officers, a relatively young German Shepherd, sketching some ideas of moving their headquarters underground.

"You need to learn something." Eamon said, making the officer jump. "Wars are won using effective strategies, not illogical ideas."

"Aye sir." the officer replied. Eamon nodded his head, but then began to look at the sketches with curiosity. He took the parchment off the desk and began to study it.

"My lord?" the officer said.

"Belay what I said before. This might end up saving our hides."

"I don't understand, my lord."

"Look at these drawings as if it were a bird's eye view."

The officer studied the sketches of shafts and tunnels in the manner Eamon told him to and the same expression as Eamon's came over the officer's.

"Trenches, boyo." Eamon said. "The perfect defense. Trenches!"

"Aye, and set up in this exact format."

The two of them immediately began working on a final draft of the plans, adding more detail to the illustrations and writing down the instruction of how to both operate and defend them. Eamon made a point to write all words in Irish Gaelic in case the enemy captured the plans. As soon as they finished the plans, a messenger entered and informed Eamon that the English were on their way to Galway. To the messenger's surprise, a smiled came across his king's face and he handed him the plans for the trenches.

"Tell every lad in to grab a shovel and begin digging."

The Irish worked through the night to set up a system of trenches around the city of Galway. Eamon directed the men personally to make sure everything was perfect. The trenches were completed around two o'clock in the morning and the Irish anxiously awaited the English forces so they could test whether or not their new defense really worked. At midday, the banners of England loomed into view, an English general, clad in shining armor, riding at the fore. As the forces drew nearer, the Irish were shocked at the size of the English army. Perhaps 10,000 soldiers occupied the field before Galway. Their numbers easily outmatched the Irish, who began to waver at the sight of the enemy.

"Stay where you are men!" Eamon shouted. "Do not give to fear!"

The English general looked through his spyglass at the Irish forces.

"Ha! So our enemy is so barbaric that they decide to seek refuge in the dirt?" the general exclaimed. "Well, if they are so pathetic, it would only be fair that we off them a chance to lay down their weapons before we destroy them." The general began to ride toward the Irish trenches, when he heard a voice shout out, "Advance no further!" The general stopped and retorted, "Who are you to order me?" but there was no answer. The general then read off an offer for the enemy's surrender. "Be it known that Ireland has fallen to the superior might of England. Your people are no longer in any position to resist. As commander of this army, I order all Irish forces to lay down their weapons and surrender this city to the His Majesty, the King. If this order goes ignored, we will have no choice but to take this city through assault. There will be no quarter given. What is your answer." It was silent for a while, but then a great spear rose from the trenches and impaled the English general, who fell from his horse. Outraged, the English forces began to charge toward the Irish forces.

As they advanced, they ran into a hail of arrows and they began to fall by the hundreds. Their advance slowed, but it kept coming. But with every arrow, their morale wavered and it was nearly lost as they reached the halfway mark. The Irish in the forward trench peered over the top and began to fire crossbows on the enemy, and every time they fired off a bolt, they would hand their crossbow to a soldier behind them to reload the weapon as they grabbed another fully loaded crossbow. The first English wave was repelled. So far, the trenches were working very well, but the English were ready to strike back. Suddenly, English longbowmen loosed their arrows on the Irish, but Eamon had a trick for repelling an arrow volley.

"Planks!" he shouted and the Irishmen slid out a number of wooden planks, hidden in small wooden slots embedded in the sod, that extended the full width of the trenches, sheltering the men inside. The arrow volley and the planks were pushed back as Eamon looked on the enemy troops and uttered, "My turn." He gave a wave of his arm, and the English witnessed a number of great stones being hurled at them, wreaking havoc on their ranks. The English continued to send wave after wave, failing each time until their forces were reduced by half. Within a course of an hour, the Irish forces outnumbered the English and now it was Eamon's turn to strike back. The English witnessed a number of spears appear over the top of the trench, sitting there until hearing the sound of a high pitched whistle. As soon as the sound ceased to ring, the thousands of Irish soldiers hidden in the trenches charged the English in full force. The English quickly tried to form a defensive line, but were too late. The Irishmen slammed into them and began to slaughter them by the hundreds. Soon, the English broke and fled for the hills. The Irish cheered in victory and proudly hoisted the flag of Ireland over the battlefield.

Eamon returned to the city and went to the war room to plan his counteroffensive, knowing full well that trench warfare had worked. It was time to put it to the full test.


End file.
